Bottling-machine.



A. A. GARPER.

yBOTTLING MACHINE.

APPLIGATION FILED 23.24, 190s.

llgggga Patented Mar. 30, 1915.

7 SHEETS-SHEET l.

A. A. GAMER. BOTTLING MACHINE.

1 y APPLICATION FILED FEB.24 1908. 1,1 33,929. Patented nar. 3o, 1915.

'l SHBBTB-SRBBT 2.

A. A. OARPER.

BOTTLIXG IAGHINE.

APPLIpATIol Hmm msm, 190s.

1,133,929. Patented Mar. 30, 1915.

l SHEETS-SHEET 3.

A. A. C-ARPER. BOTTLIING MACHINE. APrLmAmIoN FILED 11:13.24, 190e.

VIalllied Mar. 30.19.15.

l SHEETS-SHEET '4.

HIITIII ril A. a. mann. nomm um. unicum! funn 133.14, 190s.

1,133,929. Patented Mar.30,1915.

7 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

A. A. CARPER.

BOTTLING MACHINE. APPLIOATIOI FILED PERM, 1908. 1,1 33,929. Patented 30,191.5.

7 BHEBTHHBET 6.

ww I

A. CARPBB. BOTTLING MACHINE. ArruoA'rIon rum mnu, 190s.

Patented Mar. 30, 1915.

'l SHEETS-SHEET 7.

lI-IIIIIH Il UNrrnn fs'ra'rns PATENT ernten.

.ALBERT ALFRED CARPER, F CATONSVILLE, MARYLAND, ASSIGNOB, TO THE l('J'ROW'N CORK & SEAL COMPANY, OF BALTIMORE, AIVIARYLANII).

BOTTLING-MACHINE.

Application filed February 24, 1908.

, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the claims. y

ln the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 illustrates in front `View the multiple form of my invention. Fig. 11 is a front view of amachine embodying my invention, this representing a single unit ororganization with some of the parts in a different position from what is shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 2 is a side View looking from the'right of Fig. 1, parts being in section and parts omitted. Fig. 3 is a central rei-tical section from front to rear through the filling head, and its associated gas chamber, showing also the hopper for the automatic feed of the sealing devices in elevation. Fig. 4 is a detail View of the lower part of the filling head, the View being a similar section to that shown in Fig. 3 but with the parts in a different position. Fig. 5 is a View similar to Fig. 4 showing the parts in the position assumed by them when the sealing of the bottle is beingcompleted. Fig. (S is a vertical oentral sectional view of the section being taken a quarter turn from that -of Figs. 3, l and 5 and showing inxsection also the syrup pump and thewater valve and conduit for the water and gas. Fig. 7 is a view of the syrup pump cylinder, the View being taken a. quarter turn from the View of Fig. 6, the lower part of the cylinder being in section discharge valves of the said cylinder. Fig. 8 is a vertical sectional View of the bottle carrier and associate parts. Fig. 9 is a plan View of the bottle carrier with a: bottle thereon and the means for automatically controlling the fluid supply connections bythe placing of thebottle in position to be filled. Fig. 10.sheet 1. is a detail plan vieu' of the filling head and the means for controlling the flow of the liquid to be bottled. Fig. 11, sheet 1, is la detailed View of an automatically movable guard. Fig. 1Q. sheet 3. is a bottom plan View of the filling head. Fig. l`.-,slieet 6, is a View of a det-.iii part of the pump.

Specification of Letters Patent.

filling head, the p,

to show the inlet and g Patented Mar. 3l), i.

Serial No. 417,542.

Fig. 14, sheet 6, is a detail of a detent associated with the syrup pump. Fig. 15, sheet 4, is a detail View of the lever carrying a feed stop or controlling pin.

T he frame of the machine comprises a yertical plate at each end.y only one of which 1s shown, at A, supported on legs to afford desired height for a main plate A united to the two end plates which are further united and braced by a longitudinal i plate A2. The two end plates have each a streng vertical post A3, only one being shown, upon which is mounted a strong horizontal head plate A4. The parts thus far described form the general supporting framework of the machine. At the front side of the .in-achine, as indicated in dotted lines at A5 in -F ig. 2, there is a bottle shelf for empty and filled bottles or for boxes containing the same, all convenient to the hand of the attendant. fis-hereinafter indicated, each of the complete filling and capping or# ganizations, embodies mechanism for pre senting empty ,bottles and retiring them,

when filled and cap ed.

I will first descr1 by which' bottles .are filled and cap'f ed. The

bottle to be filled and sealed is indicated in resting upon a table Figs. 1F11 and 2, at a, or support 1. i Above the bottle support there is a filling and sealing head 2, these parts being correlatively employed andarranged, so that, through appropriate mechanism, one is moved in. respecttothe other. The filling and sealing head has within it a cap supporting throat 3, and above this a cap settingor applying tool 4. This throat and tool are of substantially the same form and arrangement as those described. in Let ters Patentof the United States #638354, ranted to William Painter Decemberl 5, 1899, and they perform'like functions to those described in said patent. or other cap Stoppers are per 5, automatically in any well known manner, such for instance substantially as illus trated in the patent just mentioned and. the caps pass down the chute 6 into the cap port or lateral opening 7 in the filling head. and thence to the throat ring 3, o n which the cap, which has been fed in, is supported om `etly in line with and above the mouth of the bottle supported on the carrier table 1 below the filling head. At the ylower end lof the filling head a gasket 8 is arranged.

foot o-l base.

e a single organization l eol fated automatically by Figs. 3, and 5, toc-tether with a gasket controller 9, these p'r-ts performing similar functions to like parts disclosed in Letters Patent of the United States #608158 granted to William Paintenduly 26, 1898, z'. e. to secure a gas and water tight" successive Contact withjboth the head and the neck of the bottle. This gasket controller is operthe lever 10, having its arms pivoted to the outer side of the filling head at 10X, Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 12, and having seats 11 in its arms to engage the semi-circular studs or projections 12 on the gasket controller. The lever or lever frame 10.is operated through a rod 13 and lever 14 from a cam 15 on the cam shaft 16 which is driven in any suitable manner. The lever 14 is pintled on a 'rod 17 supported inthe frame. The gaseous liquid to fill the bottle, is introduced4 through the opening 18 into the filling chamber so as ,to pass into the bottle.. The means for controlling this feed of the gaseous liquid will be described hereinafter.

As is'well known by those skilled in this art as ordinarily practised, the filling of a bottle cannot go on continuously lOwing to the'gas .pressure in the illingchamber and .bottle becoming equalized with that in the font, thus preventing the further entrance of'water to the chamber when, say for instance, the bottle is only two-thirds full, and therefore sniftin'g has heretofore been resorted to, which consists in allowing gas to pass off from the 'filling head and bottle by closing the inlet valve for the gas charged water and .opening an outlet or snifting valve for the gas. lVith my invention 1 avoid the snifting entirely and furthermore the filling of the bottle goes-on from beginning to endwithout interruption, and further the machine can be set to lill, continuously, any one size of bottles. I employ, with Vthese ends in view,l a gas receiving chamber 19 carried by the hollow stem 20 of the cap setting plunger 21, which, as will be hereinafter described, coperates with associated parts for setting the sealing cap on the bottle.. The stem of. this plunger has thereon a flangeo21* provided with a packing 22 and acting as a valve by resting upon 'the partitionv or rim 23 in the filling head.

The cap Setting plunger extends through,

the opening of the said rim vor valve seat 23 (see Fig.' 6). The hollow plunger stem "communicates at ,its upper end with the gas receivingchamber 19, and at its lower end, through the openings 23x in the 'cap setting plunger,v with the throat in the filling head just above the-lpoint at which the cap vis held. The stem of the plungeris connected with the cylinder or chamber 19 by its end threaded into the head ofthe chamber and bearing against a packing ring 24. v

Supposing nowthat the parts are 1n the position shown in Fig, 4, with the bottle in its partly raised position, z'. e. with its head inserted far enough into the filling head to be engaged by the gasket 8, which has been compressed by the ring 9 to make a liquid and gas tight contact therewith. The gas charged liquid entering through the port 18.

will flow into the bottle and the air from the bottleand the gas evolved from the liquid will risc into the gas receiving chamber 19 through the opening 23X in the hollow plunger, and the pressure in the filling-` tive to that of the bottle being fixed and being so' adjusted that when the equalization of pressure referred to'has been reached, the bottle will have beenilled and charged with gas under a pressure approximating to that in the font, and upon the closing of the valve, the bottle is now ready for capping which, as will appear hereinafter, takes place while the gas pressure is maintained within the bottle, thus avoiding 'the loss of any pressure therein.

The chamber 19 forms in effect an extension of the llling chamber and the interior of the bottle in which the gaseous liquid is received while the bottle is being filled, it being understood, however, that gasperme `ates the contents of the bottle and occupies the free space therein as well as vthe said chamber 19 and the intermediate connecting passages and the capacity of this extension is fixed in proportion to the capacity of the bottle. 'The gas receiving chamber is however adjustable as to its capacity by means of a partition which may be rigidly set at any desired poin in the said chamber to cut oil the receiving space from the re'st of the chamber above, thus providing in effect an upper head for said receiving space'. The stem 25 of this head passes through the top 26 of the chamber 19 and when the head has been adjusted to the proper position ywithin the'chamber it is there xed rigidly the lower end of a rod 3l screwed thereinto while the member 30 ison the lower end of ical the hollow rod or stein 25. The upper end of the' rod 31- is screw threaded and a nut 32 Works thereon, said nut bearing upon the upperfend of the Ahollow stem orrod Q5, so that by turning the nut the inner rod 31 be raised and the outer rod 25 will be slitionary so that the two members 29, 30 will compress and expand the packing Inaterial firmly against the wall of the chamber.

1t will be understood that the partition or head is adjusted upwardly and fixed in the chamber 19for large bottles, to fill which requires more gaseous water, and more gas is evolved in the filling chamber than with .smaller bottles. In other words the head or partition is adjusted in the chamber 19 according to the size'and capacity of the bottle to be filled, the machine of course being intended to be adjusted for each size of bottles and to fill the necessary number ofthat size before being used for any different size. y

.The next lstep in the operation immediately following the filling is'the capping of the bottle, which is done as follows: The bottle, havin been properly filled with the gas charged liquid, which has been continuously introduced into the bottle and the contents of the bottle being still `under the pressure of the gas, is raised through the tightly fitting gasket 8, to the position shown in Fig. 5, wherein it is represented as up within the cap setting 'throat 4 with the cap locked to the bottle by its flange which has been forced inwardly to grip the bottle by the action of the ycap setting tool 4. ln this action the cap under the pressure of the lifted bottle is, forced against the lower end of the plunger 21, which is forced normally downwardy by a stiff spring 33, Fig. 3, and the .pressure exerted by the carrier table l and the'setting plungervupon the cap is sufficient to compress the cork disk carried thereby lirmly upon the lip of the bottle, and this, sealing pressure is applied after the cap is raised against the lower end of the plunger 21 and before lthe cap is set or locked upon the bottle head or simultaneously therewith. The plunger 21 yields upwardlyv posed cap is raised against it, thus permitting' the cap to enter the setting tool 4 which actlng by its inclined inner wall upon the flange of said cap bends the samefinwardly and thus completes the sealing by locking the cap below-the shoulder on the exterior of the bottle. As a result of the raising of the bottle with its cap for the final sealing operation the gas from the chamber 19 is allowed to escape through the hollow plunger stem 20, the openings 9.. X in the plunger,

the' central opening in the partition or seat 23 and the outlet port 34, Fig. 3, dotted lines, and Fig. 6, and thence by the pipe 35 to any suitable point. In the lifting of the 7wardly by the rod 13 as lsoon as vthe bottle with the interplunger the Bange 21X with the packing 22 is lifted off from its seat on the rim or flange in thc filling head and this establishes the communication from the chamber .19 to the discharge pipe for the escape of the gas and also for the escape of more or less water.

W'hile the filling and capping of the bottle, as above described/is being done, the'cap port 7 through which the caps are automatically fed into the throat of the filling head, is closed gas tight, and maintained so, by means of the pad block 36., This consists of a block carrying a pad of yielding material such as rubber 33, said block and pad being forced to its seat over the cap port 7 by the pressure. lever or frame 10 connected therewith by the links 39. The closing block is supported and partially controlled by a kspring 40 and a headed pin or screw 41 which passes through an opening 42 in a web 43 of the lever 10. This spring under the limitations due to the headed pin, supports the `closing block in such a position that when the lever or frame 10 is swung upto lift the ring 9 and contract the gasket 8 pad block 36, by the same action, will be swung over the cap port 7 from the positie. shown in Fig. 3, to that shown in Fig. 4, an'. its yielding packing 38 engaging the lip of said port will make a gas tight connection therewith. The pad`block 36 is with a flange 44 to engage below the lip of the cap port 7 to guide and adjust the block 36 in place thereon while the' closing pressure is being applied through the links 39 from the lever frame. When the pad block is in position over 4the port 7 and with its flange engaging below the lip of said mouth, the lever 10 can still continue its upward movement to bring the final pressure to the block and the compression of .its pad or packing and during this action the spring 40 yields, the parts being then in the relative position shown in Figs. 4 and 5. The pressure exerted by the links 39 upon the closing block and its packing material may be changed by adjusting the eccentric pin connection 37 X said pin being fixed in adjusted position by a set screw 37.

After the bottle has been filled and sealed and the surplus gas discharged, as above described the lever 10 is swung downwardly to allow the ring 9 to drop, and the gasket 8 to be released, and at the same time the pad block 36 is moved from over the cap port 7 to allow the same to be free for the feeding in of another cap, which is performed automatically. For this purpose the hopper 5 is provided having therein any suitable means for feeding the caps tolthe chute 6, said means being operated through gearing 46 from a shaft 47 driven through gearing 16a, shaft 16b and gearing 47'i from the shaft 16 against the bottle, the

provided between said links and the block,

. and contract it chute.

Fig. 1. The hopper, together with its chute, is hinged by means o'f the arms 48, upon the shaft 17 and it is swung to and from position, with the mouth 7 of the chute at or away from the cap port 7 of the filling head as shown respectively in Fig. 3 and Fig. 4, bylmeans of the lever or frame 10 before mentioned, which is connected thereto by means of the link 49 and lever 50 which latter is provided with. two side arms 51 embracing the chute and pivoted thereto at 52. This lever 50 at the front has a cross piece 53 in which is carried a spring stop pin 54 for controlling the feed of the caps through the This stop pin is arranged to enter an opening 55 in' the top of the chute and to bear on the top of the lowermost cap in the chute before the said chute is swung away from the cap port 7, at the time the filling and sealing of the bottle is being performed, and when the pin is in contact with the lowermost cap it will hold the same directly at the mouth of the chute against the weight of all the caps in the chute which are tending to move downwardly.

The operation ofthe chute relatively to the filling and capping operations and the closing and opening of the cap port 7 for the cap willnow be clear but may be briefly stated as follows: When the lever 10 is swung upwardly to compress the gasket 8 horizontally, the movement of said lever will first be imparted through the link 49 and lever 50 to the stop setting the same down upon the lowermost cap in the chute with a yielding pressure, and when this is. done and'the bottom 53 of the barrel 53x carried thereby (Fig. et). contacts firmly with the upper face of the chute,

thus limiting the inward'movement of the pin, the continued movement of the lever 10 will, through the link L19, swing the chute away from the filling head to the position shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the row of caps being held in the chute by the stop pin bearing on the lowermost one of the series. The same upward movement of the lever 10 has caused the pad block to close over and be pressed with itsl vielding packing head against the lip of the port 7 to tight-ly close it. On the downward movementl of the lever 10, after the bottle has been filled and capped and the surplus gas has been discharged from the lling head through the pipe 35 the pad blo-ck will drop downwardly and away from the cap port and the chute will advance to ward it, the row of caps, however, being still held by the stop pin 54 because the weight of the chute, so to speak,A is still on the pivot 52, or in other words the chute and the hopper follow up closelv the downward movement of the link 49 and the relation of the lever A50 does not change in respect to the chute during this movement, but upon the arresting of the movement of the chute by Contact pin 54 -the rod 6-1 Figs. 1 and 1a the cap port it is the last to operate and thus perfect control of the assured.

The upward movement of the lever 51 limited by the screw post 56. The chute is centered in relatlon to the cap port 7 by a guide pin 57 on the filling head entering an opening 57* in the end of the chute. The gasket compressing ring 9 is guided and supported by a pin 9X extending up through a boss on the filling head.

I will now describe the means by which feed atv this point isy the water and the syrup are introduced into the fillinghead and thence into the bottle. In Fig. 6 is shown a spring supported valve 58 controlling a port 59 leading from the water supply pipe 60 toy the passage 1 which opens into the throat of the filling head as above described. This valve has its stem 61 extending up through and projecting above the guide tube 62 Figs. 1 6 and 10 to be moved. downwardly to open the valve by an arm 63 on the rod 64, Figs. 1, 2 and 10, when saidrod is turned, as will be hereinafter described, by the insertion of a bott-le into place on the bottle support, to bring said arm into the range of the said stem. The valve 58--61 has a lifting spring. The syrup is introduced through a pipe 65 into the pump cylinder 66 by way of the passages 67, 68, Fig. 7, a spring valve 69 being provided to control said passages and the outlet of the syrup from said syrup pump being controlled by the outlet valve' 70 controlling'a passage or chamber 71 conr nected by a duct 71X with the passage 18 above described leading to the filling head. The piston of the syrup pump is tubular, as shown at 71 Fig. 6, its rod 72 being ad-A justably connected therewith, for which purpose it is threaded at 73 to engage a thread 74 formed at the lower end of the head 76 threaded into the upper end of the piston and having a split clamping sleeve 77 at its upper end adapted to be compressed about the stem 72 of the piston by a locking nut 78 having a conical interior bearing on the oonicalend 79 of the split sleeve.

The piston is operated by an arm 80 on which arm is normally out of aliner'nent with the piston stem but like the water valve before mentioned,

arm 63 it is thrown into position to become effective when the rod 64 lis turned by the -tively operated by the arm ynormally disalined with placing ot' the bottle in position on the table or support 1. When in position to operate the piston, the end of the arm SO'lies between the nut T8 and the head S1 on the end of the piston rod. The rod 6l is reciprocated vertically by a grooved cam on the shaft 16, which cam operates a lever 83 connected with the lower nend of the rod 6i. When the roddescends'it operates the piston of the syrup pump and forces the syrup past the outlet valve to the passage 18 and during appart of the same downward stroke of the rod 64, the arm 63 operates the water valve 58 with the result that the syrup and water are delivered to the bottle. By adjusting the piston rod in relation to the piston the space between the nut 78 and the head 81 will be made greater or less and this will result in variation in the feed of the syrup, for it will be obvious that when the said parts are widely separated there will be lost `motion duri the reciprocating movement of the arm 60 and the feed will be less than when the piston partakes of the fully stroke of the rodlil, it being understood that the said rod' hasy a stroke of a fixed length. ln order to control the piston oi'i the syrup pump ,and prevent its premature downward movement, or in other words, prevent its displacement until it is posi- 30 I provide a detent 8l hingedat 85 on the cylinder of the ump and controlled by a. spring 3l Fig. 14, so that its -upper end will be held yieldingly inward or toward the axial center of: the cylinder and so that its upper end notched at 85, will engage the head 8l.. This detent will hold thc piston up where it was left by the arm 80 and thus, with thel parts in position to be ,operated again when the arm 80 is thrown intoline therewith and is then moved downward by the descent of the rod 64. The detent in this action Simply -yields and releases the head 8l.` This detent merely prevents the dropping down of the piston which might occur when the machine is out of operation, for instance, and the head or button 81 might then get in such position that the arm 80 would strike 0n its upper side resulting in` damage to the parts.

The arms 63 and 80 as above stated, are

the stem of the water valve and the stem of the pump piston respectively, and they are moved into line therewith 'only by the placing in the machine of a bottle in proper position for filling, so that, so long as the bottles are not supplied. the machine may continue to run, Without, however, feeding either the water or the syrup, nor Vwill the caps be fed for the reason that the feeding of the caps takes place by gravity, and as long as one cap remains in position in the throat it will hold back the other caps in the chute, and the cap in the throat is removed only after set ting and locking it to the bottle.

lleverting now to the control of the waterand syrup supply by the bottle: The bottle when placed in the machine on the carrier table 1, as shown'in Fig. 9, presses back the guard orarm 87, which is pivoted at 88, against the tension of its spring 89. This arm has at its hub a series of gear teeth meshing with teeth 90 on the enlargement 91 on the rod 64 and through this connection the rod 64 is turned when a bottle is inserted, so that then its arms 80 and 63 will be in proper position to operate the syrup pump and the water valve respectively. Thebottie when placed in position bears at itsI front side against a fixed registering `stop 92y adjustably held'by the nut 93 to the table 1. lVhen the lilled bottle is removed the arm 8T, under the action of its spring returns to its former position and the rod 64 being turned by the gearing described, removes the arms 63 and 80 from alinement with the parts to be operated thereby.

The tahle 1 Figs. 1, and 8 upon which the bottles are placed, is supported yieldingly upon a spring 101 at the upper end of a complex bottle carrier, embodying a hollow cylinder 9i, which at its lower end is4 threaded at 95 to receive an adjustable collar 06. which may be fixed in any position to which it is adiusted by a bolt 96x passing through the split portion 97 of the said collar. rl`his bottle carrier passes through the main plate A', being splined thereto at 91* Fig. 8, to prevent turning. Upon the lower lace of the collar 96 the arms of a forked lever 93 bear. said lever being pivoted on the rod 17 and being operated by which `gives to the bottle carrier the necessary step by step upward movement so that the bottle first positioned as shown in Fig. fl and then as shown in Fig. 5, ln its up and down movement a tail rod 94 attached4 to the bottom of the bottle carrier moves in tail guide bearings in the base plate A. The adjustment of the collar is for the purpose of setting the bottle carrier to receive the bottles of different lengths. The table or top of the carrier has a downwardly extending flange or rim 100 Fig. 8, embracing the cylinder 94 and splined thereto as at 100", and as beforestated, it rests upon a spring 101 which is comparatively light and resting at its lower end upon a nut 102 having a threaded connection with a sleeve 103 resting upon a ledge or shoulder lOl of an inner cylinder 105 slidably mounted within the outer cylinder and projecting thereabove. A pendant bolt 103X is attached by its screw threaded upper end to the carrier table l. and it extends at its lower end through the sleeve 103. its lower end having the sleeve 103. The nut 102 may be fixed the cam 99 in any position to which it may be adjusted, by a set screw 102x. Y

By the construction just described the lling spi-ing 101 together with the pendant bolt and the nut and sleeve may be assenibled externally tothe cylinder 94 and readily applied to or removed therefrom, and the proper degree of tension of the filling spring 101 may'be accurately determined before placing the carrier table with its associated parts in thecylinder 94. By the splined connection at 100X the table may move vertically' while held securely against rotary and undue vertical movement. Iterm the spring 101 a filling spring because it has immediate control of the bottle during the filling. The spring 106, shortly to be referred to, I term the capping spring, because it affords requisite pressure for ap-4 plying caps toy bottles. The inner cylinder 105 issupported upon the capping spring 106 which rests upon a flange of another slidably mounted cylinder 107. This latter cylinder is guided by its flanged lower end and by its upper end receiving the downward extension 108 of the upper cylinder 104. The lower inner cylinder has a downy Wardlyextending boss or bearing 109x to which is pivoted the dogs 109 held against undue outward movement by a fixed ring 108x; the lower ends of the dogs are beveled and rest partly on the beveled upper face of a button 110 carried on the rod 111 fixed to the upper inner cylinder, and partly upon the upper beveled edge of a hardened steel ring 4112 carried by the collar 113 screw threaded onto the boss 114 of the plate 115 resting upon the bottom 116 of the bottle carrier and which is screwed therein. Surroundingthe collar 113 is a slidable sleeve 117 pressed upwardly by a spring 118 which is of suflicient strength only to support the sliding parts above described and return them to normal position after being lowered.

lso

The spring 101 is of such strength that ywhen the bottle carrier is given-its first step movement upward under the action of the cam vand lever mechanism before described, the bottle will be forced to the position illus-` trated in Fig. 4, that is, with its head thrust into the compressed gasket 8 and the spring 101 is of such length and yielding quality that this action will take place irrespective of small variations in the lengths of the bottles, the spring 101 yielding sufiiciently to compensate for different bottle lengths of a given size. W'hen the cylinder or standard is given its further or second step movement upward by the cam 99, the table will bear solidlyon the top of the' inner cylinder 105 and the upward pressure from the cam will then be exerted through the stronger spring 106 to force the bottle head through the gasket and into sealing vcontact with the cap, the continued ,pressure upward causing the bending in of the flange of the cap and the locking of the same to the head of the bottle. The spring 106 is given original compression sufficient to compress the caps or crowns upon an appropriate bottle but no more, and said spring is' held in this original condition by the dogs 109 bearing upon the ring 112 and the button 110 but moving inwardly upon the button when the predetermined sealing pressure has been reached oi" exceeded and the dogs are closed by the beveled ring 112 into position to pass down into the ring 112 and collar 113. As, however, bottles of a given capacity vary in length, the parts just described are designed to relieve the sealing pressure as soon as the limiting compression of spring 106 is reached and thus guard against bottle crushing presA sure.

`By the construction shown and just described it will be seen that when a bottle placed on the table 1 and forced upward by the cam until the sealing resistance becomesv greater than the predetermined compression of the spring106 this spring begins to be slightly further compressed, the button 110 descends slightly with the dogs 109, permitting them to move inwardly on theinclined top surface of the ring 112 until they can pass down within the ring 112 and the bottle isreleased from un ue pressure. after which the resistance offered by the lifting spring 118 restores the parts to the position shown in Fig. 8 while the whole is being dropped to its lowerlevel by the cam pre-k paratory to receiving another bottle. In this Way the predetermined compressive force of spring 10G can never be exceeded more than a very. slight amount by a variation in the length of the bottles.

The above actions so far as they relate to the operation of the spring 106, the dogs, the two sliding inner cylinders and the lifting spring 118 are substantially the same as those described in Letters Patent of the United States granted to William Painter #638354, December 5, 1899 above mentioned, but my present improvement relates to the employment of the spring 101 and the non-rotatable carrier top or table movable or yieldable in respect to the lower portions of the bottle carrier.

Although the mechanical trippingror releasing mechanism for the bottle cari'ier herein shown and described, is specially important in my machines, I do not preclude the use of the well known liquid control of a carrier disclosed in the United States patent of William Painter dated August 16th,1898, #609209.

' I provide, as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 11, a guard 119-to protect the operator from fragments of glass in case of bursting of 'the bottle, said guard being carried by a filling a guide 121 and in a suitable part of the frame and operated from a lever 122, which also is pivoted on the rod 17 and is operated from a cam 123 on the shaft 16. This guard is raised to the position `shown in Fig. 1, whichshows only a portion of the guard,

"and when in this position the space beneath the filling head is free for the placing of a bottle on the table. When the filling is being performed this guard is lowered in front of the bottle so that in case the bottle breaks under pressure the guard will prevent the operator being injured by the fragments.

Reverting to the operation of the syrup pump, I may employ a head or button 81 of elongated form, as shown in Fig. 6 in dotted lines, so that in case, for any reason, the piston of the pump became free from the detent 84 and falls in the cylinder this elongated head will prevent the inward swinging movement of the arm 80 when it is 'attempted to place a bottle on the table 1 by pressing back the arm 87. In this way the displacement of .the piston of the syrup pump. will be detected at once and it will not be possible to effect injury to the arm 80.

Referring now to Fig. 1 it will be seen -that I employ a plurality of bottle filling and cappmg organizations, even up to five in number, each of which is of the form, construction and operation above described, the number of organizations shown being representative of any numberhwhch it may be desirable to employ. These several or' ganizations or units have their respective actuating mechanism so adjusted that the Voperation of either unit is out of time with either of the others. For instance, the unit or organization on-the left of Fig. l has its parts so adjusted that ithas just re` ceived a bottle, but this has not yet been presented to the filling head. The organization or unit at the right of said figure however, has presented the bottle to the filling head and the filling of the bottle held by this unit or organization is now being performed, the bottle `having entered the head to the extent shown in Fig. 4.

I have thoughtv it unnecessary, to show more than two organizations or units but it will be readily understood from the above that the bottle at the next unit will be passing to or through the act of capping and at the next unit or organization its bottle will be in the act of retiring from the filling head and so on. It vili be also observed that the guard 119 for the left hand unit, Fig. 1 is raised for the placing of the bottle upon the carrier, while for the right hand unit the guard is lowered or partially lowered to protect the operator against fiying glass should the bottle burst during the filling, and so the operations at the several units go through the same sequence of steps but instead of being in unison they are out of time in order that `one operator may attend one` large machine having many bottle filling and capping organizations.

I claim 1. In a bottling machine, a filling head having a filling chamber with capping ltool at its upper part, a bottle presenting device, an automatic filling valve, a-chamber arranged axially above thefilling head and tool to receive the yexcess gas and air pressure during the entire time of filling the bottle, and a capping plunger having a passage connectng the interior of the filling head with the said chamber and having a valve portion seated above the capping tool for controlling the outlet of the gas from the said chamber when the cap is seated on the bottle.

2. In a bottling machine, a filling head having a filling chamber with a capping tool at its upper part, a chamber connected With the filling chamber and of a capacity to receive the excess gas and air all the time the bottle is filling, and without snifting, and a capping plunger forming the communication between the said' fillingchamber and receiving chamber, said capping plunger having a valve portion operated by the seating of the cap on the bottle, to release the air and gas pressure from the said chamber, substantially as described.

3. In combination in a bottling machine.J a ,filling head, a chamber to receive excess ras while the bottle is filling to the required height, and a capping plunger within the filling head, said plunger having a passage through which gas may pass to and from the chamber and controlling the discharge of gas from said chamber, said chamber being supported on the capping plunger, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ALBERT ALFRED CARPER.

lVi tnesses HOWARD D. ADAMS, J. CRAIG MCLANAHAN. 

